SMALL BUSINESS BLOG -- SCOTT SUTTELL

A plug for growth through growing your own businesses

Blog Entry: May 16, 2013 10:02 AM | Author: SCOTT SUTTELL

The lauded Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland rate a mention in this New York Times piece about efforts to nudge state and local government toward new economic development strategies that benefit small businesses as much as corporate America.

“Currently, the businesses best able to garner generous grants and tax incentives by promising to create jobs within specific political boundaries are large, mobile corporations that can pit communities against one another, demanding ever-higher subsidies,” writes Nancy Folbre, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

A bias toward large companies “has been particularly obvious in the retail sector, where big-box stores have been big winners, with adverse effects on small independent businesses,” she said.

However, alternative economic development strategies “are gradually gaining traction,” according to Prof. Folbre.

For instance, she writes that Littleton, Colo., a Denver suburb, “has pioneered an 'economic gardening' approach that rejects a “hunting” model in favor of growing its own small businesses, providing supportive services and planning assistance.” Its success has inspired pilot projects in several states, including Florida, Iowa, Kansas and Louisiana.

Prof. Folbre writes that a popular strategy to encourage such “economic gardening” involved the promotion of worker-owned cooperatives, which “create entrepreneurs and jobs at the same time.”

The Evergreen Cooperatives “represent a stellar example” of this strategy, Prof. Folbre notes. Indeed, Evergreen recently was called out by Federal Reserve board member Sarah Bloom Raskin as “an effective model of local economic development,” Prof. Folbre notes.

This and that

The nonprofit reports the college attainment rate of Northeast Ohio residents “has eclipsed 30%” and has climbed in each of the last four years. About 33,500 students now earn associate's, bachelor's or advanced degrees in Northeast Ohio each year, up about 11% from 2006, NOCHE reports.

It estimates Northeast Ohio has about 925,000 residents with a college degree.

Northeast Ohio higher education institutions, which currently enroll more than 50,000 new undergraduate students annually, have increased new student enrollment by 20% since 2006, according to NOCHE. Total undergraduate and graduate enrollment has increased by 24% to more than 226,000 in that time.

The bright side: Middle-market companies in the Cleveland area “are more optimistic about their business performance over the next 12 months than their counterparts nationwide,” according to results of a survey of 100 companies conducted by the Greater Cleveland Partnership.

GCP said its 2013 Middle-Market Forum found that 61% of Northeast Ohio respondents are projecting growth of 5% or more this year, compared with 43% of executives surveyed nationwide by the National Center for the Middle Market who project such growth.

Within the Northeast Ohio group, 33% anticipate growth of at least 10%, compared with 22% of national respondents.

The survey also found more optimism among Northeast Ohio companies about adding jobs in 2013, with 59% expecting to grow their employee base compared with 38% of the national group.

Swing by this weekend: Saturday is a big day for the Paisley Monkey in Lakewood.

The charming children's retailer on Detroit Avenue is hosting an event to mark its expansion into the former location of Tess' Tender Touch. Lakewood Patch says Paisley Monkey now has about 2,000 square feet for merchandise, double the amount of its previous space.

Among new items in the story are baby slings, new books, maternity clothing (on the way) and new toys, according to the story. Co-owner Tamara Racin says the store also is unveiling a new play area.

“People have been calling and calling asking when we are going to reopen,” Ms. Racin tells Lakewood Patch. “We have some wonderful, faithful followers.”

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